Ayat al-Akhras
Palestinian suicide bomber (1985–2002) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about Ayat al-Akhras?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
Ayat al-Akhras (20 February 1985 – 29 March 2002) was the third and youngest Palestinian female suicide bomber who, at age 18 (some sources report her age to be as young as 16), killed herself and two Israeli civilians on March 29, 2002, by detonating explosives belted to her body. The killings gained widespread international attention due to Ayat's age and gender and the fact that one of the victims was also a teenage girl.
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (October 2012) |
Ayat Al-Akhras | |
---|---|
Born | 20 February 1985 |
Died | 29 March 2002(2002-03-29) (aged 17) |
Nationality | Palestinian |
Akhras was born in 1985 in the Deheishe Refugee Camp near Bethlehem, the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Her parents had fled or were expelled from Arab villages near Jaffa at the end of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War to settle in the Gaza Strip, and had moved from there to Bethlehem in the wake of the 1967 Six Day War. Her childhood experiences had likely radicalized her, leading her to join resistance organizations. During the 1987 First Intifada against the Israeli occupation, Akhras' oldest brother was jailed twice for attacking Israeli soldiers; and during the 2000 Second Intifada, members of her family were wounded and killed by the Israeli military. In 2002, a close friend and neighbor of Akhras that was playing with his toddler was hit by a stray bullet.
Akhras was a straight-A student and had hopes of attending college and becoming a news reporter. In 2001 she became engaged and plans were made for a wedding in July 2002. However, on 29 March 2002, Ayat al-Akhras was driven to the Kiryat HaYovel supermarket in Jerusalem by a recently recruited Tanzim member. Akhras detonated her explosives and killed two people: a 17-year-old Israeli girl named Rachel Levy and a 55-year-old security guard named Haim Smadar who had attempted to stop Akhras from entering the supermarket. In February 2014, Israeli returned the remains of Ayat to her family as part of prisoner swaps, enabling them to arrange her funeral.